America needs to step back from Iraq
Violence interrupted the celebrations of National Sovereignty Day (photo courtesy of Iraq Solidarity Campaign)
One month ago today, celebrations filled the streets of Baghdad as Iraqis marked “National Sovereignty Day,” commemorating the official withdrawal of American troops from Iraqi cities. But in Kirkuk, just 150 miles north of Baghdad, the cheers and high spirits were replaced with screams and panic when a car bomb exploded in a crowded market, killing at least 34 people.
This incident caused me to take a step back and ask, ‘Is Iraq ready to stand on its own two feet?’
Over the last six years American troops, advisers and diplomats have been working to establish a stable Iraq, combating violence, training Iraqi soldiers and police, and planting the seeds of democracy for the first time in Iraq’s history. What more can the United States do to help this war torn nation?
Perhaps the answer is to stop helping. Read more…